route 66

route 66 is steeped in the Americana of past glories and forgotten memories. one of the original U.S. highways erected in 1926, it connected Chicago to Los Angeles and played an important role in Western migration. in the mid 80s it was deemed irrelevant and officially removed from the U.S. highway system. but route 66 gets its notoriety thanks to popular songs and tv shows. it became a fixture. a symbol of freedom and the open road. and people responded to that.

even when i was living in Greece during my middle school years, route 66 signs adorned notebooks and planners in stationary stores. i remember being impressed by how wide-spread and appealing the idea of the no-boundary life was. and rightfully so. it's definitely always been my ultimate goal.

so it's little wonder that every tiny collection of stores infrequently lining its edges are plastered with route 66-themed memorabilia. capitalizing off its fame is wholly American, after all. as is the kitschy-ness of turning the old, empty shells of once functional items into tourist attractions. but somewhere amidst the skeleton frames of burnt out Chevrolets and abandoned structures, there lingers the ghost of something so beautifully and wildly unattainable, you can't help but love it.